Live cattle futures on Friday were poised for a 4.4% gain on the month, which would be the strongest monthly gain since September 2011. On Friday afternoon, April live cattle
/quotes/zigman/12345187/realtimeLCJ4 fell 0.13 cents, or 0.1%, to $1.404 a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Live cattle, cattle being readied for the feedlots, hit a closing high of $1.439 on Jan. 23, which is the highest level on records going back to Nov. 5, 1984, according to FactSet data, which tracks the most-active contracts. Various news reports said that was the highest since trading began on the CME in 1964.

Feeder cattle, cattle being fed for slaughter, closed at $1.704 a pound on Jan. 22, also the highest level on record going back to Nov. 5, 1984. March feeder cattle
/quotes/zigman/14666257/realtimeFCH4 last traded at $1.69 a pound, up 0.3 cent, or 0.2%. For the month, prices are up around 1.4%.

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